Lapid Renews Finance Ties with PA

Israel-PA talks still on hold, but finance ministries are already meeting.

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Maayana Miskin, 02/07/13 17:01

Finance Minister Yair Lapid

Flash 90

While Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has yet to convince Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas to agree to unconditional talks, senior politicians on both sides are beginning their own talks.

On Tuesday, the Israeli and PA Finance ministries resumed ties, with Finance Minister Yair Lapid sitting down to talk with his PA counterpart, Shukri Bishara. Netanyahu coordinated the meeting.

Senior officials in the Israeli and PA tax authorities were present as well.

Sources in the Finance Ministry said the goal of the talks was to “resume economic cooperation and implement confidence-building measures, in order to improve ties and for the benefit of both partners.”

The meeting ended with a decision to form a joint taskforce that will meet once every two weeks. Its purpose will be “to quickly and efficiently move ahead regarding the relevant issues,” Finance Ministry spokespeople said.